Good Times - Final Seasons

Final Seasons

With Amos and Rolle gone, Ja'net Du Bois took over as the star, as Willona checked in on the Evans children as they were now living alone. New characters were added or had their roles expanded: Johnny Brown as the overweight building superintendent Nathan Bookman, formerly a recurring character, became a regular; Ben Powers as Thelma's husband Keith Anderson; and Janet Jackson as Penny Gordon Woods, an abused girl adopted by Willona. However, despite these changes, Rolle's absence left the series without a unifying center of attention and as a result, many viewers defected from the series. At the end of season five, the program ranked only at number 39.

For season six, Esther Rolle agreed to return to the show. There were several conditions, one was that the Carl Dixon character be written out as if he had never existed. Rolle disliked the storyline surrounding the Carl Dixon character, as she believed Florida would not have moved on so quickly after James' death. Rolle also thought the writers had disregarded Florida's devout Christian beliefs having her fall for and marry Carl, who was an atheist. Other conditions of her return were that she would have a greater say in the storyline, J.J. would become a more respectable character, and that she would receive a raise in her salary.

The hope was that with Rolle coming back to the show, the lost audience members would return and the ratings would improve. When she returned to the series in the fall of 1978, viewers did not follow suit, and stopped watching in increasing numbers. To Rolle's dismay, CBS moved the show to Saturday nights in the fall of 1978, furthering the decline in ratings. Production ended in early 1979 after the final season ranked only 45th in the ratings.

The last original episode aired in August 1979. In a finale atypical of the series in general, each character finally had a "happy ending." J.J. got his big break as an artist for a comic book company, after years of the audience waiting for such a development; his newly created character, DynoWoman, was based on Thelma (much to her surprise and delight). Michael attended college and moved into an on-campus dorm. Keith's bad knee miraculously healed, leading to the Chicago Bears offering him a contract to play football. Keith and (a newly pregnant) Thelma moved to a luxury apartment in Chicago's upscale Gold Coast area and offered Florida the chance to move in with them (and her future grandchild). Willona became the head buyer of the boutique she worked in; she and Penny moved into the same luxury building and, once again, became Florida's downstairs neighbors.